No Such Thing as Bad Publicity...Right?

[prosodic]

So I got an email this morning. It was a comment made on my Brugge/Ghent post from 5 years ago - when Lance and I were on our honeymoon.

Honeymun.com posted my blog post on their website. They linked it back to me and everything, so it's not like I didn't get credit for it. They just left me a comment to let me know that they used my post.

They didn't ask. They just took.

No harm done, as far as I can tell. The website just seems to be a dumping ground for any and all blog posts/websites with honeymoon information - trying to consolidate everything in one place, I guess. I don't see where my post is particularly useful to anyone, especially since the hotel we stayed at in Brugge doesn't even exist anymore. It could spark ideas for things to do and see, I suppose, if one plans to go to Brugge or Ghent on their honeymoon.

But I'm getting away from the point. It seems to me that my permission should've been asked first before my material was used on this site. Or am I crazy to think so? I mean, what if I don't like their site or don't want to be associated with it? I've been approached by other websites before regarding material on my blog, and they've always asked permission before using it. They never left me a comment after they took it to tell me that they took it and sent me the link to where I can find it. This just strikes me as being the wrong approach.

What say you, Live Journalers? How would you feel in this situation? I mean, any plug for my blog is good. I'm just a little uncomfortable with my writing being posted somewhere without my consent, you know?

Comments

[godchick.livejournal.com]

I would be annoyed, too. They should have asked your permission first.Especially like you said, if you didn't like that site. maybe send them an e-mail telling them how you feel about this.

[onelargecat.livejournal.com]

yeah, technically that is wrong and they stole your content. in reality, i'm not sure there's much you can do, other than emailing them and telling them that you want your material removed because you did not give them permission to use it. linking back to you and giving you credit is not a substitute for having legal permission to publish your writing.

[inateapot.livejournal.com]

I agree with the other posters - def. they should have asked permission first. I would think a link without asking is fine (a lot of people do that) but posting your whole article is definitely not cool.

You might want to look into Creative Commons licensing (http://creativecommons.org/) for your online writings.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

They didn't post the entire article - just the first 2 paragraphs, with at least 2 links back to my blog. But that's probably irrelevant. They should've asked, period.

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

Just two paragraphs may be considered Fair Use...or it may not. Fair Use changes so regularly it's hard to keep track of.

But if they'd posted the whole thing then...yeah. Especially if they're making money from the site.